Preservation of food products



Patented Apr. 24, 1951 "UNITED STAT Lloyd B. Jensen, Chicago, Ill.,'. and William A.

Miller, Manhattan, Kans.,' assignors to Swift & I Company, ChicagoJlL, a corporation of Illinois No Drawing. Application December 11, 1948,

Serial No. 64,910

The present invention relates to the preparation and use of an antibiotic substance, and more particularly to the preparation and use of an antimicrobial substance of plant origin.

6 Claims. (01. 99150) wort were finely ground. The ground moss was then placed in a flask and covered with acetone. The fiask was held at room temperature for approximately 24 hours and shaken at intervals.

The invention contemplates the utilization of 5 The acetone'layer containing the acetone-soluble an antibiotic substance naturally associated with antimicrobial constituents of the St. Johns wort tissues of the plant Hypericum perforatu'm. (Lin), was separated from the insoluble material by commonly called St. Johns wort. filtration, and the acetone was distilled 01f under Therefore, an object of the present invention a vacuum at 42 C. The residue was. taken up is to provide a potent antibiotic substance of in ethyl alcohol (95 per cent) so that 1 ml. of plant origin. I L I 1 the alcoholic extract contained the acetone sol-- A further object of the invention is to provide uble material in 3 grams of the original St. an :antibioticsubstance' which is non-toxic to Johns wort. a humans. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the An additional objectof. the invention is to antibiotic material" in the alcohol solution obprovide an antibiotic substance which is resistant tained in accordance with the example, the folto'heat. lowing test was performed: Another ,object of theinvention isto employ Serial dilutions of the extract were made in an antibiotic substance having an origin in a 10 cc. broth tubes and the tubes inoculated with vegetative plant asa preservative for food prodbacteria. Each 10 ml. broth tube contained ucts. g f v 1 approximately 75,000 cells of a food poisoning In achieving. the objects of the present invenstrain of Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium tion, finely cut or ground St. Johns wort is sporogenes, and Bacillus m'ger. The tubes were treated with a suitable non-aqueous organic solallowed to incubate at a temperature of 37 C. vent such as acetone. The acetone layer con- 5 and inspected for bacterial prowth at the end taining the constituents of the plant tissue solof 1, 2, 3, and 6 days. In Table I are tabulated uble therein. is separated from the acetonethefresults obtained with the aforesaid bacteria. insoluble fibrous mass, the acetone removed The minus signs in said table indicate no'bactherefrom, and the extract taken up in a carrier terial growth, and the positive signs indicate the solvent, such as ethanol. presence of viable bacteria at the incubation The following example illustrates a preferred periods specified.

Table I SaZ'mo- Pseudo- D 'r St I l Cl. Dyfifitg- 11 9321 ci c c s g 2232; gg sporo- $3, ent broth indays cureus pens g -genes St. Johns wort antibiotic shows marked activity against, certain gram positive bacteria al-. though the data given in the above table indicate that the effects of the St. Johns wort antibiotic vary in potency when tested against'different.

embodiment of the invention, and the tests falling thereunder illustrate the potency of the material obtained in accordance with the processes of the example. I

Example-150 grams of the shrub St. Johns organisms. Thus, the extract kills Staphylococcus in dilutions of 1 to 1,000, and Bacillus niger and Clostridium spoo'ogenes in dilutions of 1 to 100. The bactericidal properties of the extract, lethally effective in the dilutions indicated for the various organisms, were demonstrated by inoculating nutrient agar plates with 0.1 cc. of the aforesaid dilutions which hadbeen allowed to incubate for 5 days. After 5 days incubation of the inoculated plates no viable bacteria were observed as a result of the transfers.

Although acetone is the preferred primary. solvent, we have found that other organic solvents are suitable as the extracting solvent. For example, dioxane, ethyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone and ethanol may be used. We have also found a water extraction of the antibiotic material to be ineffective as an antibiotic because of the proteinaceous material dissolved, therein.

It is obvious that many variations in the solvent-treating process may be advantageously employed. The higher the temperature, generally the less time is required for extraction. Moreover, the extraction process may be carried out in one step; for example, with ethanol or with a mixture of solvents. We have found it preferable to process the antibiotic substance contained in the St. Johns wort by a two-stage solvent process involving first treating the substance with a primary solvent whichis substantially removed and then taking up the resulting extract with another solvent so as to form a solution which is a convenient form of using theproduct. We have found that acetone is'a veryeffec tive primary solvent in producing the antibiotic substance from the plant tissue. After evaporating off the acetone, the preferred solution is made with a carrier solvent such as ethanol, which may be consumed internally without harm.

By using ethyl alcohol we alsoutilize its wellif known properties, such as non-toxicity and ability to prevent contamination.

In the processing of food products a serious problem is the preservation thereof, and although great strides have been made in improving the quality and keeping time of various food products by refrigeration, canning, curing, plant sanitation, etc., the problem of preservation of food requires the constant attention of the food processor to improve long-established methods of treating food and to devise new means of. food control.

Food spoilage is due primarily to microbial action, and the species of microorganisms responsible for food deterioration are numerous. The

sporing genera, Clostridium and Bacillus, for ex-.

ample, when contaminating food, cause food; Another serious concern of the food spoilage. handler is food posioning, which is oftenof an insidious nature because food products may be contaminated-with one or more of the harmful? bacteria referred to herein and yet appear organoleptically'sound. Among thefood poisoning. poisoner is:

for example, in treating meat products, such as hams, sausages, and canned meats; cream fillings for pastries, such as cream puffs, chocolate clairs, custards,and:the like; and canned vegetables, to prevent swelling due to organisms, such as the genus Bacillus.

lhe invention will be more full understood from the following description of methods of using the antibiotic substance.

As hereinbefore mentioned, we have found that the antibiotic reagent hereindescribed is lethal to a, number of; microbes ,in 'a 1, to 1,000 dilution of the extract, the'extract being of such strength that 1 ml. of the alcoholic solution thereof contained the acetone-soluble constituents in 5 grams of root. Therefore, the addition of 1 part, of the solution to 1,000 parts of the conventional pickling solution will result in a meat product cured therewith which .has a very marked increase in resistance to the development of pathogenic organisms.

The following is an example of a curing pickle stock; which may be used in a process for quickc-uring hams when provided with antibiotic substancein the proportions outlined above; that. is, the antibiotic substance, is added in an amount such, as to effect a 1 to 1,000 dilution of the antibiotic material of the arbitrary strength herein described (1 ml.=5. g. of root).

To 100 gallonsofa 90 Salometersolution there are added:

'7 lbs. sodium nitrate '10 oz. sodium nitrite:

20 lbs. sugar 378.5 cc. anibiotic solution Luncheon meatwas cured according to conventional methods'in which the antibiotic substance was present .in a 1 to 1000 dilution. The

meat, productpwas placedlin six fi-pound cans and retorted to an insidetemperature of 155 F; and incubated at 99 F. After 30 days of incubation no swelling of the cans couldbe, observed. "The control cans swelled in one week.

A' further example of the utility of the antibiotic material is-their use in a cream filling for various pastries. To determine the effectiveness, a standard'creamfilling used in eclairs' was inoculated with a bacterial solution. containing 100,000,1iving ,Staphylococcusaureus S-l per 100 ml. and the filling incubatedat a temperature between 75 F..and 80. F. The results of the tests are given in Table II.

The foregoing tests indicate that the antibiotic preparation exerts a pronounced inhibiting action against the Staphylococcus aureus in cream fillings.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the invention as hereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims,

We claim:

1. In the process of treating foodproducts, the step ofadding to a food product a small amount of an alcoholicsolution of antibiotic substance derived from the plant Hypericum perjoratum to preserve said food product ag-ainst pathogenic bacteria responsible for food poisoning and spoilage.

2. In the process of quick-curing meats, wherein a pickling solution is injected into said meat, the step of adding to said pickling solution a small amount of the antibiotic substance derived from the plant Hyperz'cum perforatum by treatment with a non-aqueous organic solvent whereby the growth of pathogenic bacteria responsible for food spoilage and poisoning in the meat is substantially retarded.

3. In the process of preparing pastries containing fillings subject to spoilage by pathogenic bacteria, the step of adding to the said fillings a small amount of the antibiotic substance derived from the plant Hypericum perforatum by treatment with a non-aqueous organic solvent whereby the growth of pathogenic bacteria in the said fillings is substantially retarded.

4. A meat pickle including a small amount of an antibiotic substance derived from the plant Hypen'cum perforatum by treatment with a nonaq-ueous organic solvent,

5. A cream filling for pastries including a small amount of an antibiotic substance derived from the plant Hypericum perforatum by treatment with a non-aqueous organic solvent.

6. In the process of treating food products, the step of adding to a food product a small amount 6 of an antibiotic substance derived from the plant Hyperz'cum perforatum by treatment with a nonaqueous organic solvent to preserve said food product against pathogenic bacteria responsible for food poisoning and spoilage.

LLOYD B. JENSEN.

WILLIAM A. MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number N ame. Date 469,850 Chesebrough Mar. 1, 1892 2,084,864 Paddock June 22, 1937 2,098,110 Schertz et al. Nov. 2, 1937 2,117,478 Hall May 17, 1938 2,180,750 Urbain Nov. 21, 1939 OTHER REFERENCES 

1. IN THE PROCESS OF TREATING FOOD PRODUCTS, THE STEP OF ADDING TO A FOOD PRODUCT A SMALL AMOUNT OF AN ALCOHOLIC SOLUTION OF ANITBIOTIC SUBSTANCE DERIVED FROM THE PLANT HYPERICUM PERFORATUM TO PRESERVE SAID FOOD PRODUCT AGAINST PATHOGENIC BACTERIA RESPONSBILE FOR FOOD POISONING AND SPOILAGE. 